This Oklahoma Town Will Give You $10,000 to Buy a House If You Move There to Work Remote A recruitment effort within the state's second-largest city wants to entice more remote workers to settle there. It'll even throw in an Airbnb credit so you can try before you buy.
By Jessica Thomas •
If you're a city-dweller who dreams of homeownership but can't stomach the astronomical prices in large metro areas like New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco or Austin, one enterprising, Oklahoma-based recruitment organization has an offer for you. Since 2018, Tulsa Remote — which was developed by regional nonprofit George Kaiser Family Foundation — has offered perks to remote workers who move to its namesake city from other areas of the country. And today, it's announced that it will contribute $10,000 toward the purchase of a home to people who want to plant roots in the south central U.S. hub.
The average cost of a house in Tulsa is just $157,000, so $10,000 would cover nearly one-third of a 20% down payment. But as an added sweetener, Tulsa Remote's offering a $500 travel stipend and $150 credit in partnership with Airbnb to remote workers who want to test-drive Tulsa first.
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The mid-size city of about 400,000 people has been putting serious money behind attracting highly educated remote workers to its community for more than three years, long before the pandemic made telecommuting commonplace for a significant portion of the population.
Tulsa Remote has offered $10,000 grants to more than 500 remote workers who've relocated there since its inception, but with this new program, it'll give qualified remote workers that $10,000 in a lump sum (it was previously paid in installments) if they commit to using it toward purchasing a home in the Tulsa area.
To qualify, workers must be 18 years of age, legally able to work in the U.S., either self-employed or able to work remote, currently living outside of Oklahoma and willing to relocate there for at least one year.
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